Illinois Governor Pat Quinn finally started talking tough on the budget, albeit a little too late.
He needed to say no more Mr. Nice Guy a long time ago.
Today he vetoed what he described as the most onerous parts of the budget, that decimate what he calls the heart and soul of the state's human services.
That's sets up a showdown with his fellow Democrats House Speaker Mike Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton, who won't give Quinn what he wants.
They're calling their chambers into special session on July 14th, but if the mess isn't fixed in the next two weeks state workers won't get their checks on the 15th of the month and then the pain starts.
Throughout the process Quinn's been constantly outflanked by Madigan whose calculations likely involve his daughter Lisa's potential run against Quinn in next winter's gubernatorial primary.
And at times with Quinn's strategy of tugging at the heart-strings and flip-flops seem eerily reminiscent of his predecessor. We all know how far that got him.
So what do you want Governor Quinn to do to solve this budget mess?
Weigh in here.
